The Four Originals
by AndTheDeadShallRise
Summary: Aang and the gang find out Ozai had more secrets than he let on. Deep in a dungeon in the fire nation, they find a girl. But not just any girl, the first water bender. What is she doing there? And what does she have to do with the Avatar?


Aang was sure he wasn't really needed there. The new Fire Lord, his close friend Zuko, had only invited him along as a formality. The war was over, and it was time to go through the various fire nation prisons and release all of the innocent captives. Most of them had already been set free, but there was still one more prison in the fire nation that had yet to be touched.

This was mostly because it was a royal prison, and no one other than the royal family had access to it. This was where the traitors were, where they kept the criminals no one wanted to see.

This was where the ex-Fire Lord Ozai was kept.

It was also where Zuko's uncle Iroh had been kept when he'd been imprisoned.

"Zuko," Aang complained. "I have a lot of things I have to do. I'm supposed to be at North Pole soon, to talk to their chief about the new peace we have."

"I know, I know." The young Fire Lord said. "But this is important. Everyone here probably deserves to be here, but you have to help me open this last door." He explained right as they stepped in front of it. It was a complicated door, one that reminded him of the great doors he'd seen at the Avatar temples he'd visited. The door was separated into four colors, one for each element. In each colored section, was a design representing the culture of the element, and of course there was a place in each to put your bending to use and open the door.

"Aang, Zuko, you made it." Katara, who was standing off to the side of the great door, said in greeting.

"Katara, what are you doing here?" Aang asked his current girlfriend, unable to keep the smile from coming to his face.

"She's here to be our water." Zuko answered for her.

"And I'm here for earth, twinkle toes." A grinning Toph said, coming up behind them.

"Alright, so we're all here. What's behind the door, Zuko?"

"We are not _all_ here!" Sokka said, storming in. "I know I'm not a bender, but I'm important too!"

"Hey look, the gangs back together!" Toph exclaimed sarcastically.

"Er, guys? Can we get back to the point?" Zuko asked, gesturing to the large door. "This is the place I was telling you guys about. This is the only door my father said we could never play around with. He told me the power in here was too strong, but he never once said what's actually in it."

"So basically, you dragged us all out here to kill your curiosity?" Toph asked.

"Can we just open the door the please?" Zuko asked, now clearly irritated.

Nodding in agreement, the four benders took their positions. At the count of three, their elements exploded towards the door in perfect unison, and door responded. Various clicks of locks and turning of handles were heard, and the door finally opened.

"Finally." Was the first thing the group heard. Whatever they were expecting, this wasn't it.

She was pretty average, probably around five and a half feet. Her long dark brown hair was pin straight, and up in a high pony tail, with the exception of some hair in the front, that fell next to her face. She was wearing typical fire nation clothes, but her darker skin said she wasn't from the nation.

"Who are you? Why are you in here?" Zuko demanded right off the bat. The girl turned her large, bright green eyes towards him, and glared as if he were the devil himself.

"You keep me here, and don't know who I am?" She sighed. "My name is Mei. I'm the Original Water Bender." And with that, she whipped her arms out, ripping the water from Kataras' water pouch, and holding it around her defensivly.

Aang had never really bought into the stories of the Original Benders. According to legend, the four Originals were the first to gain the ability of bending. All of them received their bending abilities from the spirit world, from the spirits of the elements they carried. They stopped aging, becoming immortal humans. They were the ultimate masters, knowing techniques that had been lost ages ago, and having general control over the elements that far surpassed any other. Each was also marked with a specific marking on their body that set them aside from other people.

Also according to legend, they decided who the next Avatar would be.

But Aang preferred to ignore that part even more.

He looked down over her, looking for any indication that she was lying or insane, when he saw it. It was the symbol of the water tribe, etched into her skin like a birthmark on her right hand. Other lines swirled around it, twisting up her arm and into her sleeve, but those looked more like tattoos.

She was telling the truth.


End file.
